


to the shores of freedom

by aeriamamaduck



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Awkward Sexual Situations, Blue-Purple Hawke, Canon-Typical Violence, Cute Fenris, Drinking, Drunk Fenris, Fenris with memories/without lyrium markings, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Leto - Freeform, M/M, Oral Sex, Sex, rogue hawke - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-21 22:02:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9568718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriamamaduck/pseuds/aeriamamaduck
Summary: Garrett thought he had just about the worst luck a person could have, until he crossed paths with a fugitive Tevinter elf named Leto.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So about two years ago a fellow Fenmancer and I thought, "What if our Hawkes were romancing _Leto_? How would his relationships with others change? What would his personality be like?"
> 
> Here's a collection of oneshots I ended up writing.

Garrett so rarely had peaceful nights.

Surveying the scene around them in frustration, he wondered what the dwarf had been playing at. There had been no lyrium to be found in that house, and based on the slavers’ reactions to their appearance in the alienage the entire thing had been a trap.

At least the three of them were alive and the slavers were nothing but smears and half-frozen chunks littering the ground. Garrett grimly bent to retrieve as many arrows as possible.

Varric huffed as he wiped blood splatter from his crossbow, “Okay, so that Anso fellow was probably playing us for fools. Maybe that whole ‘recent-arrival-to-the-surface’ act was just that.”

“Could the Carta be involved with slavers now?” Bethany asked, worry creasing her brow.

Garrett began leading the way out of the alienage. It was far too ensconced for his liking now that this job had gone sour. “Who knows? Besides, they mentioned they were looking for an elf, a very specific elf. I still want a few words with Anso, if he hasn’t bolted, that is.”

He rounded the massive tree, his grip on his bow tightening as soon as he spotted the glaring, armored man blocking the way to the stairs leading out of the alienage.

The man’s eyes flitted towards the corpses and his lip curled in anger, then he stepped towards the three. Garrett halted, instinctively edging towards Bethany and keeping his free hand ready to pull out an arrow.

The slaver spat, “I don’t know who you are, friend, but you made a serious mistake coming here.”

 _Apparently I did_ , Garrett thought, glaring back at him and curling his fingers.

The man barked over his shoulder, “Lieutenant, I want everyone in the clearing, now!”

The answer came by way of a faint, wet gurgle from behind the wall. “C-Captain…!” Suddenly a human shape in armor clattered down the stairs, drenched in blood and falling completely still.

The captain’s eyes grew round with shock, and Garrett followed his gaze to the top of the stairs, where out of the shadows appeared a slim figure clad in steel and leather. It was a black-haired elf, holding a broadsword that Garrett would have been hard-pressed to lift with _both_ hands.

He strode down the stairs, a cold smile on his face as he addressed the captain without so much as a glance, “Your men are dead, and your trap has failed. I suggest running back to your master while you can.”

He spoke with an assertion Garrett rarely heard from an elf, Athenril being the glaring exception.

Anger flared on the captain’s face as he reached for the elf. “You’re going nowhere, slave!”

His hand was on the elf’s shoulder for less than a second before that massive blade swung around to catch him in the middle, sending him flying to the side and landing in a heap of blood as the blow nearly split him in half. Garrett stepped back in shock, eyes drawn to the strong grip on the hilt. This elf was not kidding.

Green eyes flashing with fury, the elf snarled in the body’s direction. “I am _not_ a slave.”

Then he turned to face the three of them, sheathing that sword and schooling his features into a modicum of gentility, along with a smile that looked meant to calm. “ _Avana_ and my apologies. When I asked Anso to provide a distraction for the hunters, I had no idea they’d be so…numerous,” he explained, walking towards the clearing. His brows were raised in surprise as he observed the bodies on the ground.

Frowning as everything began to fall into place, Garrett stated with little shock, “I take it these men were looking for you.”

The elf gave him a glance over his shoulder, smirked slightly, and turned to face him. “You take it correctly. My name is Leto. These men were Imperial bounty hunters seeking to recover a magister’s lost property—namely myself,” he said, touching his chestplate with a hand bound in the most dangerous gauntlet Garrett had ever seen. “They were trying to lure me into the open. Crude as their methods were, I could not face them alone.” His gaze flickered toward Bethany and Varric, who had moved to flank Garrett. “Thankfully, Anso chose wisely.”

Bethany asked skeptically, “If you couldn’t fight them, why not just run?”

Smirk disappearing, Leto responded, “There comes a time when you must stop running. When you turn and face the tiger.”

Garrett crossed his arms over his chest, frown softening. “Everything Anso said was a lie, then?”

“Not everything. Your employer was simply not who you believed. Clever of me, I know,” Leto said, the smirk returning.

Unable to help returning that smirk, Garrett said, “That seems like a lot of effort to find one slave.”

“It is. The man who fancies himself my master made a considerable investment when he purchased me. He had plans for me. Nothing I was particularly looking forward to,” he said, mouth slightly twisting in distaste.

Garrett sighed. This was not his first tangle with slavers, but this lot had been deadly serious. At least the fight wasn’t a complete waste. “If they were really trying to recapture you, then I’m happy I helped.”

Leto looked relieved. “I’m quite happy you helped too. If I may ask, what was in the chest? The one they kept in the house?”

“It was empty.” _Unfortunately…_

Disappointment clouded Leto’s face. “I suppose it was too much to hope for. Even so…I had to know.”

Garrett raised an eyebrow. “You were expecting something else?”

Leto didn’t look at him as he walked towards the captain’s corpse. “I was, but I shouldn’t have. It was bait, nothing more.”

He knelt down and began to root around the captain’s belt, searching through the many pouches. Garrett stared down at him, not knowing why the elf had gone to such lengths in the first place. “You didn’t have to lie to get my help.”

Leto paused and gave him a sidelong glance. “That remains to be seen.” He continued until he retrieved a folded piece of paper, unfolding it and frowning at what he saw. Garrett peered over a shoulder, finding writing in what appeared to be Tevene and an intricate symbol at the bottom.

“It’s as I thought,” Leto said as he got to his feet and looked at them again. “The magister accompanied them to the city. I know you have questions, but I must confront him before he flees. I will need your help.”

Garrett could discern what a confrontation implied. “It sounds like you intend to do more than just talk.”

Leto replied sharply. “Care to know what Danarius has planned for me? He wants to graft lyrium into my skin to turn me into some manner of…enhanced bodyguard, and has sent so many hunters that I’ve lost count.”

Varric sucked in a breath. “Ouch.”

The elf added darkly, “So yes, I intend to do more than just talk.”

Garrett bit his lip, not wanting to imagine the pain involved in grafting lyrium into someone’s skin. It did not sound at all pretty.

Leto, on the other hand, _was_.

Smiling at the elf as charmingly as possible, Garrett replied, “If it means fighting more slavers, I’ll help you.”

He could feel the roll of Bethany’s eyes behind him.

Leto nodded in acceptance with a determined look. “I will find a way to repay you, I swear it. The magister is staying at a mansion in Hightown. Meet me there as soon as you can. We must enter before morning.”

With that he quickly made his way up the stairs, and slipped into the shadows.

Garrett blew out a tense breath and turned back to Bethany and Varric, who were looking at him expectantly.

Grinning he shrugged and told them, “Well, this is turning out to be a fun evening.”

* * *

 

There were four bodies in the foyer, blood pooling around them in dark puddles. Garrett looked at them all, panic rising in his throat as his eyes fell on the bloodstains leading into the main hall. Had the Tevinter slavers finally caught up to Leto?

Swallowing down the unwelcome thought, Garrett stepped past the corpses and called out, “…Leto…?”

Then came an answering snarl from the second floor, “ _Who’s out there?”_

He quickly replied, relief making his thoughts hazy, “It’s just me! Hawke!”

The black-clad elf appeared at the top of the room, clutching a rag to his bicep. The rag was yellow stained a dark red. Leto’s entire body was taut with tension, but he seemed to relax a little when he saw Garrett. He began to walk down the stairs. “Thank the Maker. For a moment I thought you were another slaver.”

Garrett quickly walked to Leto, suddenly worried about what appeared to be a serious wound. “They were after you?”

Leto shrugged with his uninjured shoulder, smirking though his brow was furrowed with pain. “I doubt they were here for me specifically. I’m a lone elf living in a vacated mansion and likely they assumed I was yet another easy target.” He walked towards the bodies and shook his head with a frown. “None of the traps I _thought_ I fixed worked, but lucky for me I was close enough that I could hear them coming in.”

Garrett spotted the ones he spoke of, the floor tiles slightly off-kilter. “What, these spring traps here?” He knelt to examine the closest one, biting down a grin at what had been Leto’s fatal mistake in “fixing” the traps before straightening again. “I can fix these. For now let’s worry about that nasty cut on your arm.”

Leto gave his arm a disdainful look. “Bah, it was my own fault. I got careless for a moment and suddenly I had a dagger in my arm.”

The human sucked in a breath as he carefully reached for the elf’s arm and slowly moved the makeshift bandage aside, wincing at the sight of the wound. “It looks deep.”

“Which is why I thought I’d go see your friend Anders.”

“We’ll go now. Then we can figure out what to do about your guests after. Aveline may have a few ideas.”

Leto turned a surprised gaze on him then gave him an earnest nod. “Thank you. I am hard pressed to remember precisely where the clinic is.”

Smiling back, Garrett began to lead the way out but was halted by Leto’s hand on his front. “Be careful of the glass.”

There was a burgundy-colored puddle in front of them, surrounded by near-black bits of glass spread on the floor. Garrett smelled a distinct scent in the air. “Is that wine?”

Leto replied as they walked around it. “ _Agreggio Pavali._ There’s a cellar full of it. I was retrieving a few bottles when the slavers surprised me.”

“Is it any good?”

The smirk Leto gave Garrett made heat creep up the back of his neck. “Heh. My friend, you’ve no idea what you’ve been missing.” He glanced at the puddle again and clicked his tongue. “Shame that the bottle was wasted.”

Garrett snorted derisively. “Fereldan dog or not, no way am I licking that up off the floor.”

* * *

 

Garrett shook his head with a smirk as he watched Leto down yet another bottle of wine, a look of complete enjoyment on his flushed face. Leto was usually an open book, and wine made him much chattier.

Leto gave the bottle a shake. “Last bottle of the _Aggregio_.” He extended it to Garrett, arm wavering in the air. “I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.”

Garrett took the bottle before Leto’s grip failed him. “And what’s that?” He asked before taking a swig, closing his eyes as the sweet taste hit his tongue, followed by the sharp bite of the alcohol making its way down his throat.

A slurred edge to his voice, Leto brightly declared, “The anniversary of my escape.” He reached back for the bottle and Garrett returned it, busy watching Leto’s full and unrestrained smile. “ _Astia valla femundis._ Care to hear the story?”

Garrett sat down in front of him, seeing the elf leaning in towards him as though he were the one starting to tell a story. He couldn’t help the indulgent smile that broke on his face, always too amused by Leto’s openness, even if there were still things about him that surprised Garrett. “I enjoy listening to you talk.”

Leto replied almost fondly. “And I enjoy a man willing to speak his mind.” He sat back straighter, clearing his throat and placing restless hands on his knees. “Let’s see…I’ve told you of the Fog Warriors, the rebels of the Seheron jungles. My mother was one of them, and I knew where to find them once I made my way to the island.”

His smile was full of feeling, showing his excitement at reliving such moments. “They found me and took me in, nursed me back to health. I stayed with them for years, until…” His smile faded, replaced by a dark look as he tore his gaze from Garrett. “Danarius finally came for me.”

Garrett felt his own smile disappear, dismay taking its place at the mention of the magister who had purchased Leto. “He was…relieved to see you were alive?”

Shrugging, Leto bitterly replied, “Relieved to see his investment hadn’t ended up in Qunari hands, perhaps.” He paused to take a long drink, eyelids heavier when he put the bottle down. “The rebels were the only family I had left. We bowed to no master and fought for our freedom. It was everything I’d dreamed of as a boy. When Danarius came, I refused to let him take me. I did not intend to return to a magister’s yoke.”

Another swig and then he looked at the bottle in his hand with a pained expression. “He ordered me to kill them, and when I disobeyed he had his own soldiers attack. He was wounded, but my friends were killed. I barely escaped with my life.”

Garrett’s heart fell at that. Before tonight he could only guess at the circumstances of Leto’s arrival in the Free Marches, but he never thought they were so devastating. Leto went on, eyes just visible beneath the fringe of black hair. “My master had returned and this…this fantasy life was over. I looked down at their bodies, and felt…I couldn’t…” He closed his eyes at the slight break in his voice. “I ran and never looked back.”

He sounded so regretful. “Danarius would have captured you if you hadn’t run. You couldn’t let that happen.”

Taking deep breaths Leto straightened again and looked at Garrett, eyes a little clearer. “That is true. I could not return to face what Danarius had in store for me. A slave does not dream of freedom, or wonder at possibilities. You think only of your master’s desires, and what the next hour will bring.” He stared at the bottle in his hand, at once thoughtful and uneasy. “Such a life would have killed me.”

“Couldn’t you have found other Fog Warriors? Stayed on as a rebel?”

“Even if I did, I felt…unworthy. I had no way of knowing if I could escape from Danarius then. I knew he would always be on the hunt, and staying in Seheron would have been imprudent. I stowed aboard a ship to the mainland and moved south, knowing I might be chased by Danarius every step of the way. It was weeks before Danarius was able to mount the search in earnest, but by then I was already gone.”

There was no sign of the Leto Garrett was used to. No hint of a grin meant to ease a situation or the laugh that caught Garrett off-guard with its huskiness. “This can’t be easy to talk about.”

Without a reply, Leto raised the bottle to his lips again, throat bobbing with a swallow of the wine. He said in a quiet tone, “I’ve never spoken about what happened to anyone. I’ve never wanted to.” His gaze found Garrett again and the unreservedness appeared again. “Perhaps this is what it means to have a friend.”

Feeling a prickle at the back of his neck, Garrett bit his lip. Yes, it was wonderful to have Leto’s friendship, but…His thought process was usually beyond friendship when it came to the elf. “It might mean more than that,” he said, eyes darting to the floor when his face grew hot.

But he could hear the gentle laughter in Leto’s voice when he said, “Honestly? …I _do_ hope it means more than that.”

Garrett raised his eyes again, surprised. Leto’s verdant gaze was on him, completely unwavering with a grin on his face. “I _did_ call you a handsome man during our last conversation. Has the greatest marksman in Thedas truly been blind to my interest?”

His heart thundering, Garrett had to struggle to get his restless eyes under control. He was a grown man and did not want to repel Leto with his sudden hesitation. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Was there…no one after you escaped, even?”

Leto’s gaze flickered away for a moment. “Only one,” he stated in a tone laced with loss and finality. “Afterward, I didn’t think I needed anyone. Or wanted anyone. Until now.”

Garrett may have been a hunter but he felt like prey, the way Leto was staring at him. _Willing_ prey, as he was finally able to meet that gaze when he realized just how long he’d been waiting for just this to happen. Leto was bright as sunlight and powerful as a summer storm. To be wanted by him felt as though he’d been crowned the King of Ferelden.

Bracing himself, Garrett blurted out, “We could find out.”

Smile widening, Leto put the bottle on the table and pushed himself up to his feet. Garrett froze, eyes growing wide as the elf began to stumble towards him. “Wait, I-I didn’t mean _now–”_

His voice came to a shuddering stop when Leto’s hand came up to cup his jaw line, tilting his face up to face him. Garrett looked at those eyes, darkened with lust, and leaned into Leto’s touch even as he placed his hands on the elf’s vest to stop his progress. Leto began to lean his head towards Garrett’s, and just as Garrett was about to repeat his “no,” he suddenly had a lapful of Leto as the elf toppled on top of him, out cold.

Garrett listened to him snore for a few moments before taking a deep, exasperated breath and muttering, “…You may be an elf, but you’re not exactly _light_.”

No reply other than a light snore. Unable to resist a fond smile, Garrett rearranged Leto until he was able to pick him up and carry him to his bed. He set him down carefully and had to stifle his laugh when Leto immediately scrabbled for a pillow and wrapped his arms around it.

“Good night,” he whispered, making his way out of the room.

* * *

 

“Her name was Kei.”

Garrett looked up from his tankard, eyes falling on the suddenly frowning elf across the table. “Kei?”

They were in the Hanged Man, waiting for Aveline so they could follow up on the missing Qunari envoys and taking in a quick meal and a drink before what they assumed would be an inevitable skirmish. Leto had seemed restless all evening and it worried Garrett.

Green eyes locked with his, apprehension clouding them. “The woman I was…involved with in Seheron. The only other person…” He shifted in his chair, brow furrowed with remembered pain. “An elf, another rebel. Kei was strong. Willful. Clever. She was my first friend when I joined the Fog Warriors.”

He chuckled softly and his brow smoothed. “For a long time I was a little infatuated with her, and one night we suddenly found ourselves sharing sleeping furs. I cannot tell if I loved her or not. Perhaps I did, but…we were there when the other needed it and…” His voice caught on the last word and he closed his eyes. “It hurt like nothing else when I saw her lying dead.”

Garrett’s heart grew heavy with sorrow at what was probably the worst moment of Leto’s life. “I’m so sorry.”

Leto’s hand blanketed his, squeezing tightly with a desperation betrayed by his intense gaze. “I did not expect to find you, Garrett, but I do not intend to lose you. I cannot.”

Garrett squeezed back, wanting to give Leto an anchor. “You won’t lose me. You’d have an easier time getting rid of a flea.”

Leto’s grin returned and his grip loosened. “Like those fleas you were crawling with when we met?”

“Now you’re being rude.”

* * *

The battle was over quicker than expected, and Garrett supposed he owed that to Leto’s desperation and fear. They were both in one piece, along with Aveline and Anders.

The elf was stalking towards one of the surviving mages, who lay whimpering on the ground, and knelt down to pull the mage’s head up by the hair.

Leto snarled into the man’s ear, “Where _is he?”_

Garrett flinched when Leto roughly shoved the mage’s head back down onto the ground and pulled him back up in two swift motions. The mage’s face began to bruise and his nose looked broken. He begged pathetically, “Please…don’t kill me…”

His head hit the ground a second time before Leto growled, “ _Tell me!”_

The mage wailed, “I don’t know…I don’t know, I swear! Hadriana brought us!”

Leto’s brows were raised slightly in confusion. “Hadriana?! You were not sent by Danarius?”

“She…Danarius is her patron! She’s at the holding caves north of the city. I can show you the way–”

“No need,” Leto replied darkly, still holding the mage’s hair in a death grip. “I know which ones you speak of.”

“Then let me go. I beg you! I swear I–”

Eyes narrowed to near slits, Leto cut in dangerously, “You chose the wrong master.”

Before Garrett knew it Leto had taken the young man’s head by the chin with his other hand and pulled it roughly toward him, resulting in a resounding crack. The mage’s body twitched once before Leto got to his feet, body tense as a bowstring.

He turned back towards Garrett, looking more furious than he’d ever seen him in three years of knowing him. He nearly shouted, “I was a _fool_ to think I was free! They’ll _never_ let me be! I _knew_ he wouldn’t let this go!”

Garrett looked at the corpses surrounding them, realizing that this scene would be repeated if something was not done about it. Slavers were not famous for letting escaped slaves go free, particularly one as apparently valuable as Leto. He couldn’t bear to think of what would happen if they did catch Leto unawares and without back up. “They need to be stopped before this goes any further.”

“I agree,” Aveline said, glaring at the Tevinter sigil on the mage’s robes. “I don’t like the sound of these holding caves being in use.”

Leto looked slightly relieved and then nodded determinedly. “The holding caves held slaves in the old times, but apparently they are no longer abandoned.” He began to walk quickly in the direction the mage had indicated. “We must go quickly, before this Hadriana has a chance to prepare. Or flee.”

* * *

Anders’s healing magic flowed through Garrett, righting the twist in his ankle as he got back up to his feet, trying to avoid the ichor around him.

He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that they were all still standing, though Leto was stalking towards the fallen woman in the corner of the room, clutching an arrow embedded in her abdomen as she whimpered.

Leto wordlessly raised his maul over his shoulder as he stood over her, and her blue eyes widened with fear. She raised a bloody hand and cried out, “Stop! You do not want me dead!”

The elf hissed without lowering his weapon, “There is only one person I want dead more.”

Garrett observed the woman who lay wounded, focusing on her face in particular. While she _was_ in distress, there was a distinct sharpness in her eyes that told Garrett she was not to be trusted. Her voice strained, she said, “I have information, elf, and I will trade it in return for my life.”

Leto laughed humorlessly, “Hah! The location of Danarius? What good will that do me? I’d rather he lose me _and_ his pet pupil.”

Hadriana narrowed her eyes as she stared up at Leto, trying to sit up but wincing and clutching her stomach. “I know where your sister is.”

Two things happened then: Leto immediately lowered the maul and looked at Hadriana in shock, all fury wiped from his face. He uttered breathlessly, “Varania…”

Garrett made his way closer to them, worry and suspicion knotting his brow. Leto had spoken rarely of his mother and sister, changing the subject when they were brought up. All everyone knew was that Leto had used the boon won in a proving to free them, and that he never saw them again after his escape.

His reaction must have told Hadriana everything she needed to know, because the corners of her mouth quirked in the beginnings of a sneer. “You wish to find her again? Let me go, and I will tell you where she is!”

Garrett moved closer, knowing the magebane in the arrow tip would only buy them so much time. Just a drop of mana and Hadriana would use her blood again. “How do we know you’re even telling the truth?” he asked, acutely aware of Leto’s tension beside him.

Hadriana chuckled, “You don’t. But I know what this slave is capable of for the sake of his family.” She looked at Leto contemptuously. “That is until he decides to run like a coward. If he wants me to betray Danarius, he’ll have to pay for it!”

For a moment Garrett was tempted to sink a dagger into her vile heart, but it was not his decision to make. He looked at Leto, seeing the war in his eyes as he stared at Hadriana. Leto alone understood Garrett’s pain when Bethany was taken to the Circle, and he realized how the loss of his mother and sister haunted him. “This is _your_ call.”

Leto became tense again, but leaned forward towards Hadriana. Victory sparked in those hateful blue eyes. “So I have your word?” she asked eagerly. “I tell you and you let me go?”

The elf looked at her and, his voice full of solemn promise, said. “Yes. You have my word, _Domna_.”

Garrett inwardly shuddered at Leto’s use of the Tevinter honorific. An obvious ploy to cozy up to Hadriana, yet it still bothered him.

The magister, noticeably pleased, immediately offered up, “She is in Qarinus, serving a magister by the name of Ahriman.”

Leto frowned. “A servant…not a slave.” There was no sign of his tension letting up.

Hadriana shook her head. “She’s not a slave. The Imperium has kept its word on that!”

Leto replied in a low tone, “I believe you.” He straightened slightly, prompting Hadriana to let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Suddenly Leto had her flat on the floor, holding her by the throat in a crushing grip with one hand. Hadriana flailed helplessly beneath him, eyes wide and reddening as she clutched at his arm. Just a push further down and Garrett heard a soft crack, and Hadriana’s arms fell limp to her sides as if she were a rag doll. Leto got to his feet, staring at her hatefully as he let her go. His gauntlets had left tiny cuts on the skin of her throat.

Leto spun on his heel and swiftly walked away from the corpse, coldly stating. “We’re done here.”

Garrett quickly stepped out of the elf’s way, and was immediately ashamed of the frisson of fear that had coursed through him. What could he possibly say to this new, terrifying Leto? “Do you want to talk about it?”

Leto turned toward him and snapped loudly, “No! I don’t want to talk about it! This could be a trap! Danarius could have sent Hadriana here to tell me about my sister and use her to lure me back!” He turned away and shook his head in angry desperation. “I won’t go back, not to the horror they had planned for me…But all that matters is that I killed Danarius’s apprentice. May she rot, and all the other masters with her!”

Garrett bit his lip, trying to avoid the looks of pity from Aveline and Anders. He could not think of what to say to lessen Leto’s anger or his fear, for he knew how afraid the elf was of being taken back to Tevinter in chains for whatever fate they’d planned for him. Taking a breath, Garrett extended a shaking hand to place it on Leto’s stiff shoulder. “Maybe we should leave.”

Leto shrugged his hand away. “I don’t need comforting!” He looked right at Garrett, who painstakingly kept his gaze level. “This is never going to end. There will _always_ be slavers out there, just waiting to catch someone unawares. Not me. I will _never_ return to that life! I’ll die first!”

Opening his mouth to voice a denial, Garrett quickly closed it again. Shock had robbed him of his words, and he believed it when Leto said he would die before becoming a slave again.

It terrified him.

It must have shown, because Leto’s face filled with regret for a brief moment before he ducked his head and muttered, “I…need to go…”

He retreated into the shadows before Garrett could even think to follow him. He tried to convince himself that it was for the best, but could not curb the fear that filled him. Would Leto even be alright on his own? What if there were more slavers along the coast?

“Come on,” he said to the others in clipped tones, leading the way out of the caves. Garrett knew Leto moved quickly, and hoped he and the elven girl they’d encountered earlier made their way safely back to Kirkwall.

* * *

“This constant fear. To know that it was they who put it inside me…” Leto’s gaze seemed to wander inwardly, into his own heart. Garrett watched him and yearned to do whatever he could to dispel those fears, to chase away the shadows that hounded him even though he always had a laugh at the ready.

Then Leto shook his head and drew his shoulders in as he turned away from Garrett. “Bah. But I didn’t come here to burden you, further.”

He was leaving. Garrett’s heart leapt into his throat at the thought of Leto walking out of the door. No, he couldn’t leave it like this. Not when he had so much to say, but his stupid mouth wouldn’t form the words. He needed hours, _days_ to get what he needed Leto to know out.

He reached out and placed a gently restraining hand on Leto’s arm, fingertips tingling as they touched the hard muscle of his arm. “You don’t need to leave, Leto.”

The elf turned back to him, eyes wide with surprise beneath the fringe of black hair and staring intently at Garrett, who suddenly froze beneath the intensity of that gaze.

Garrett’s breaths quickened and his mouth went dry, every word he wanted to say flying out of his mind like spooked birds as his heart fluttered. His hand wandered down to Leto’s, fingers wrapping around the elf’s calloused ones while he fervently wished his palm wasn’t so sweaty.

Leto faced him, green eyes questioning as he came closer. “Garrett?”

He swallowed and took a shuddering breath, placing his other hand on Leto’s shoulder and tugging him towards him. In a split second he watched Leto’s eyes widen with surprise before Garrett had their lips and bodies pressed together, heart thudding as his mind howled, _Yes!_

Years of watching that tantalizing mouth curl in a smirk at every joke, those eyes blaze with energy during battle, and they were finally here. Garrett spun them around to press Leto against the wall, giving him a short moment to suck in a breath before capturing his lips again.

Then, blessedly, Leto tilted his head and parted his lips slightly, inhaling harshly through his nose as Garrett’s tongue languidly explored his mouth. The elf shuddered when the tip of Garrett’s tongue grazed against the roof of his mouth, the sound snaking down the length of the human’s spine as Leto began to move sinuously against him and his arms wrapped around his torso.

Gauntleted fingers curled over his back, the sharp stings making Garrett hiss and forget how to breathe as he buried his hands in soft black hair to tilt Leto’s head further and deepen the kiss.

Then Leto gasped sharply and pulled away from the kiss, catching his breath as he stared at Garrett through darkened eyes, face flushed and hair wonderfully mussed.

Garrett, his trousers suddenly tighter, panted, “What’s wrong?”

He was terrified of the answer, terrified that perhaps he’d gone too far.

Leto let his forehead fall against Garrett’s as he breathed deeply, a lazy grin unfurling on his face as he breathed, “I don’t exactly relish the idea of your mother finding us going at it in the vestibule.”

The elf’s face reddened more as he said it, and Garrett beamed in excitement. “You’re serious?”

“Completely,” Leto growled before pressing a harsh kiss against Garrett’s lips. “All the flirting. Those little looks in my direction.” The smile slowly melted away, replaced by a more hesitant look as he closed his eyes as if in anguish. “I’ve _wanted_ you for years, dreamed of touching you,” he said, dragging his fingers down Garrett’s back, the human’s eyes fluttering closed at the sensation. Leto murmured against his lips, “You are all I think about, and it is _distracting.”_

Garrett gave him a quick kiss, lips moving towards his neck. “Distracting how?”

Strong hands held him back, and he was staring at Leto’s infuriating smirk and predatory eyes. Garrett nearly fell to his knees then and there.

“I’ll tell you all about it _upstairs_.”

And off they went, taking the stairs two at a time.

* * *

 

Knuckles traced soft lines up and down Garrett’s spine as he lay on his stomach, grinning lazily at the flickering flames in the fireplace as a pleasing ache settled into his muscles. Leto was charmingly enthusiastic, and they’d made love twice, Garrett watching those glorious green eyes go alight with wonder and joy as pleasure crashed over them, wave after wave.

Garrett exhaled in utter relaxation, closing his eyes just as Leto slowly crawled over him, dragging his lips over Garrett’s shoulders and settling on his nape to suck there. Garrett squirmed and reached up to stroke his lover’s hair. “Mmm…Again? We need rest.”

Leto chuckled huskily over his skin, “I, a former Fog Warrior, require little rest, Garrett Hawke. Perhaps you are getting on in years.”

Tugging playfully at the elf’s hair, Garrett replied, “You’re five years older than me. If anyone should be worn out it’s you.”

Laughing against his shoulder, Leto settled over Garrett’s back and nuzzled him there, making a pleased, low humming noise that sounded suspiciously like…

“I can’t wait to tell Isabela that you were _purring_.”

Leto nipped his shoulder and buried his face there. “Please don’t,” he muttered. “I would love to be able to look at her without her being able to tell…What am I saying? She’ll know as soon as she sees us.”

“Urgh…I do _not_ want to get up, but…in a few hours, I will be very hungry. I’m not me when I’m hungry.” He started turning on to his side, Leto dragging himself off of him and settling beside him. “Are you…staying for breakfast?”

The tips of Leto’s ears turned red and he hid his face in the pillow, but Garrett caught his sheepish smile. “Erm…I would actually prefer that your mother not see me coming out of your bedroom. It feels…somewhat rude.”

Garrett snorted and leaned in to kiss the elf’s hairline. “Which part? The sleeping over part? The…having _amazing_ sex with her son part?”

“That’s the one.” Leto raised his face again, looking rather serious as he reached up to caress the side of Garrett’s face. “I care for you, and…this was better than anything I could have dreamed. I…would like your mother to see that I am serious about this, and I’d rather not shock her by strolling out of your room.”

Realizing that he was beaming from ear to ear, Garrett nuzzled Leto’s forehead and held him close. “So it’s ‘care,’ is it?”

The elf made a soft humming noise against his neck. “I would have said ‘love,’ but then my face would have combusted. And there it goes.”

Garrett laughed breathlessly, his heart racing in his chest as the word “love” bounced around his head and filled him with a joy he hadn’t felt in years. Ducking his head he gave Leto brief kisses between exuberant smiles. “Then I ‘care’ for you too.”

* * *

 

Garrett had always made a point of being as quiet as possible when having sex, particularly when his mother was in the house.

The door and walls were thick enough to sufficiently muffle any loud noises he accidentally let out, so that was a bit of a relief.

A bit, considering Leto’s dark head was bobbing over his cock, the elf having crawled beneath the blanket and kissed a blazing trail down his torso before Garrett could say anything (not that he could).

His head was thrown back on his pillow, fingers clutching the sheets beneath him as Leto’s soft moans sizzled down his hard cock. A choked gasp emerged from his lips, his chest heaving with every hard breath and his back arching up towards the elf.

Leto’s strong hands gripped his hips, controlling all of Garrett’s stuttering thrusts into his mouth as he neared climax. The elf swallowed around his cock and Garrett’s eyes flew open, breaths sharp and release so so so close…

Then came two knocks at the door and a voice that lay a cold dread over Garrett’s skin. “Garrett, are you busy?”

He froze, as did Leto who quickly removed his mouth. They were silent and tense as a few moments passed, Garrett’s heart racing in his chest as he closed his eyes again and _prayed_ his mother walked away. His arousal had faded with the speed of a cart down a steep hill. Now all that was left was to survive the embarrassment.

Another moment and then he heard a muffled murmuring of, “Oh…wait…Leto came over…” Leto’s hands briefly tightened on Garrett’s hips as the latter flushed when Leandra said in an all-too bright voice, “Nevermind, love!”

He heard quick footsteps heading away from his room and sagged against the mattress in some semblance of relief. Running a shaking hand through sweat-damp hair, Garrett wished they’d spent the night at Leto’s. The elf shifted until his head was uncovered, face flushed and hair mussed in a very telling way.

He asked with dread, “Your mother knows we’re having sex?!”

Garrett narrowed his eyes and poked at the space between Leto’s eyebrows. “No, she thinks you’re teaching me Qunlat.”

To his surprise Leto started to laugh and rolled off of him, covering himself with the blanket as he held on to his stomach. Garrett turned onto his side and raised an eyebrow at him. “What could possibly be funny?”

Leto covered his eyes with a hand and smiled with both mirth and sheepishness. “How do you look someone in the eye when they know you’ve been sucking their son’s cock?”

Garrett grabbed his pillow and pressed it over his face groaning long and low as his ears began to burn. “I am going to _hurt_ you.”

Still he had to smile as he listened to Leto’s contagious laughter.

* * *

Leto pushed the door open slowly, remembering one of Anders’s many rules about entering his clinic. Open it too quickly and Anders would panic, thinking the Templars had finally arrived. Leto obliged him at least in that, knowing a thing or two about wanting to hide.

There were people in the clinic, a family gathered around a tearful child lying on one of the cots. He was holding his arm close to his chest, and it looked fine. _Anders must have just healed it_. He found the mage emerging from a stockroom near the back, bearing a piece of cloth that he quickly fashioned into a sling.

“Keep it as immobilized as possible for the next week,” Anders explained to the relieved parents. “Then you can bring him back and I can make sure the arm’s healed properly.”

Leto waited at the entrance while the family thanked the mage profusely, a tiny knot of anxiety forming in his stomach. He hoped Garrett would be fine on his own and he _had_ promised to return quickly. Just a quick errand…and reason to try and alleviate his misgivings with someone else, even if that someone _did_ irritate him.

Stepping aside to let the humans leave, Leto walked towards Anders. The mage looked up at him with surprise as he cleaned his hands in a shallow basin.

“What brings you here?” he asked blandly enough, as if Leto hadn’t caught him glaring daggers at him more than once after he and Garrett made their relationship known.

Deciding it was not the time to comment on it, Leto extended a bushel of cleaned elfroot. “Garrett had these lying around, and I thought you’d find more use for them.”

Anders’s eyebrows quirked in surprise and he reached for the herbs. “Thanks.” He turned away to place them beside the basin, then looked back at Leto with a more open look on his face. “How is Garrett?”

Leto sighed, reaching back to rub the back of his neck as he tiredly sat on one of the benches. “Quiet. Doesn’t go out unless you ask him to.” It had been three weeks since Leandra’s murder, and the loss had hit Garrett intensely hard. “He is…not the same…”

Anders sighed heavily and shook his head. “Who would be? Leandra died in his arms, and…Maker, her _face_ , her body…”

Inhaling sharply, Leto tried not to think of Leandra Hawke’s ruined face, a stranger’s eyes in her sockets. Yet the look of love in her eyes as she gazed at Garrett that final time was absolute. That she was able to speak to him at all was nothing short of a miracle.

“I fear he may not return from this,” Leto told the human, heart aching as he recalled the emptiness in Garrett’s eyes, his exhaustion and lack of will. “What can I say? What more can I do? It…It is painful to see him suffer this way.”

Anders did not reply immediately, his back turned as he mixed ingredients. Judging by the tension in his shoulders, Leto had likely stricken a nerve. But this was not about him or the mage, it was about what Garrett needed. Fortunately Anders turned back to him and said, “No more than what you’ve already been doing. He doesn’t need someone to say whatever it takes to make him feel better. That’d be meaningless. Just be there, whatever he needs.”

He did not offer more, but Leto felt reassured nonetheless. It was encouraging to feel Garrett wrap his arms tight around him, the sudden loneliness apparently making him forget the aching loss.

He got up and hesitated before leaving, not knowing what else he could say to Anders. But he did know Garrett still needed him.

* * *

 

Boredom. Pain. Boredom. Pain. Boredom. 

Yes. Boredom had to be the worst part of having three broken ribs. Garrett Hawke stared up at the canopy above him, counting how many times he could blink in a minute. He cursed himself for the hundredth time for not seeing that pommel blow coming, but at the same time it had given him the advantage he needed to aim at the Arishok’s chest.

It had been enough. The bastard lay dead, but Garrett felt as though his insides had been torn to bits.

That had been four days ago, and though Anders was a wonderful healer he was not a miracle worker. His daily visits served to knit the broken bones together, but it was a slow process and Anders needed to conserve his energy for the influx of patients that flooded his clinic following the horde’s attack.

Anders had just stepped out, and Garrett could just hear him speaking with Leto downstairs. The elf had been present for every healing session, brow knotted in worry as creation magic flowed through Garrett.

Seeing the look of terror on Leto’s face following his victory had been far more painful than the blow and the bite he’d given his tongue when the Arishok barreled towards him but managed to only swipe his side. When Garrett had first tried to stand up, fiery pain stabbed through his chest, worse than when he struggled to breathe, and sank back down to the floor before his splintered ribs punctured something vital.

Aveline had needed to carry him out following a quick healing spell from Anders that minutely eased the pain.

Once past the pain, Garrett had begun to become very bored in his confinement. He was an active man by nature and hated all this lying still and depending on others.

Most of all he hated how Leto followed Anders’s instructions to the letter, especially about keeping him in bed as much as possible, and _not_ in the fun way.

 _Just two more days,_ he said to himself. _Two more and you can start walking again._

To be able to pick up his bow and feel his muscles stretch effortlessly as he pulled the string seemed a faraway dream. He felt useless, coddled, and forgotten.

The door opened and Leto entered, holding an orange in one hand and smiling at Garrett.

“Need something for that sweet tooth?”

Garrett had to smile back at the glow in those perfect green eyes, a glow of hope and relief. He relaxed against the pillows, deciding that this confining recovery was worth it if only to stop Leto from worrying. “Why? You’re going to let me sink my teeth into that neck of yours?”

Leto rolled his eyes and made his way to the bed, carefully sitting down so as to not jostle the bed too much and began to peel the skin off. Garrett inhaled deeply as the scent, sweet with a subtle tang, filled the room.

He asked, “So what did the good healer say this time? Are you to tie me up if I misbehave?”

“That and you can stop being so terrified of taking deep breaths. He’s quite sure everything is back in its proper place.” He pulled a wedge free and brought it to Garrett’s lips, and he readily pulled it into his mouth. Leto asked, “It’s not too sour, is it?”

He shook his head, happily swallowing the sweet juice. “It’s perfect.” Garrett smiled as he recalled the first time they’d shared an orange after Leto told him of how such a valuable fruit was not permitted to slaves. His love’s green eyes had shone with the depth of his enjoyment, and so he made a point of making sure he always had some in the estate.

Leto gave him a perceptive look as he swallowed a wedge. “You’re dying of boredom, aren’t you?”

Garrett sighed and turned to stare at the flickering embers in the fireplace. “I am thoroughly sick and tired of this room. I want to go out and punch a bandit in the face. Shoot a few rabbits and bring them home for dinner. _Anything_. Maker, I’m pretty sure the city’s forgotten all about me by now.”

The elf gave a rich chuckle. “Quite the opposite, in fact. They were serious about naming you the Champion of Kirkwall. I wouldn’t be surprised if the nobles banded together to make you Viscount.”

“That’s…a scary notion, actually.”

“You can handle it.”

“No I can’t. I’d execute every piece-of-shit noble and merchant who looked down on the refugees and the elves.”

Again that endearing half-smile and look of adoration from perfect eyes, and Garrett felt as though he could soar. A small blush rising in his cheeks, he bit his lip and confessed, “…I miss you too.”

Leto raised an eyebrow. “I’ve spent the night every day since!”

“ _On the couch in the library.”_

Shaking his head, Leto told him, “I am not about to risk rolling over and hurting you. Once you are declared completely fit…” He then leaned in and brushed his lips across Garrett’s, lightly and with a teasing smile. “ _Then_ you can have me.”

Garrett watched Leto’s playfulness, and decided that he would indeed have him.

* * *

 

Garrett’s chest burned with every breath he took, muscles tense with fear and fury even as he watched Danarius die on the tavern floor, his blood coating the length of Leto’s sword. The meeting had been a trap, Leto’s sister having led the magister right to them. The look of absolute betrayal on Leto’s face was enough to break Garrett’s heart into a thousand pieces, and he wanted to kill Varania for putting it there.

Now Leto stared at his sister, eyes filled with anguish as he sheathed his sword.

Varania took a step back, pale and trembling as she stared at his bloodied arms. “I had no choice Leto.”

Leto took a step toward her, voice shaking when he asked, “…No choice?”

She looked at Danarius’s corpse, holding her hands close to her chest. “He was going to make me his apprentice. I would have been a magister!” Her green eyes flashed with accusation as they fixed on Leto.

Leto’s eyes blazed with momentary anger and he demanded, “You would have sold your own brother out, for _that?!_ ”

Varania stood straighter, facing Leto and shouting, “You have _no idea_ what Mother and I went through after you ran off! What I had to do!”

Leto seemed to shrink back, the anger melting away from him and leaving only anguish. “…Varania, you were free. I won that boon for you and Mother!”

Her eyes narrowed as she shook her head. “Freedom was no boon. I look at you and I know you got the better end of the bargain. Our mother died asking for _you_ when I was the one who stayed behind to take care of her.”

Garrett grew cold at the sight of Leto’s face falling, and he realized Varania had just told him their mother was dead. He wanted to reach out and hold Leto as he had after that horrible day in the Undercity, but he was rooted to the spot by shock at what Varania had nearly done.

Leto quietly replied, “Varania, I…I didn’t know. I thought I’d done the right thing.”

Varania gave a bitter laugh. “The right thing. The right thing would have been to stay with your new master. But you took the coward’s way out.” The look she gave him was of pure hatred, meant to cut deep. Leto flinched once before turning and speeding out of the tavern.

Garrett quickly followed after him, not caring that he was covered in blood and all manner of demon gore. He didn’t care about leaving Varania alone in that battleground. He only cared about catching up to Leto.

People quickly cleared a path when they saw the state of him, eyes widening with fear as he closed the distance between him and Leto.

The elf turned the corner into an alley, but Garrett knew that shortcut well and immediately followed him in. He lunged forward, reaching out a hand and grabbed his arm. “Leto! Leto, wait!”

Leto halted, turning and growling as he tried to tug himself away, “Let me go, Garrett.”

Garrett persisted, maintaining an iron grip and making Leto look at him. “Just wait! She was wrong, Leto!” He looked at the elf imploringly, shaking with remaining anger. “You freed them! You gave them a chance!”

Leto shook his head and tore his gaze away from Garrett’s. “I _didn’t!”_ He managed to pull away, but backed into the wall and sank to the floor, misery coming off of him in waves.“I could have searched for them and brought them with me! I could have been there when my mother…She was right. I am a coward.”

Kneeling in front of him, Garrett took him by the chin and forced his gaze up. “Leto, you listen to me. You are no coward. You are one of the bravest people I know.”

Sighing heavily, Leto placed his hand on Garrett’s wrist and pushed his hand away. “I could have accepted my fate.”

Blood rushed through Garrett’s ears at the thought of Leto in Danarius’s grasp. Leto enslaved. Leto’s spirit broken. He shook his head and asked, his voice shaking, “Then where would you be? Where would I be? Would I have gotten this far without you beside me? You know I’d be a pretty smear on the Wounded Coast if I didn’t have you watching my back.”

Leto’s gaze returned to him, and he was silent for a moment before a tiny smile appeared on his face, and he squeezed Garrett’s hand. “…It _is_ a rather lovely back.”

Garrett chuckled breathlessly and leaned his forehead against Leto’s. “…I’m sorry. I wish that had turned out different.”

They stayed that way for a few moments then Leto murmured, “You are lucky to have someone like Bethany.”

Garrett sighed, knowing Leto was right. Suddenly the elf was getting to his feet and hauling Garrett up with him. The human asked, “Where are we going?”

“I can’t leave it like this,” Leto replied, green eyes suddenly hard. “Varania is still my sister and I cannot abandon her.” Then his eyes dimmed with sadness. “I owe my mother that, at least.”

**Author's Note:**

> Odd place to end it, I know.
> 
> my tumblr: **aeriamamaduck**


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